Pick and Choose

* Is George Bush really a Republican? Think about it. He's never vetoed anything. Deficit spending like crazy. He might've just nominated the first gay Supreme Court Justice. Now, he's touting that his highway bill will create jobs. Aren't the Democrats the ones who like big government infrastructure spending to create jobs? Bush created this big social spending albatross in Prescription Drugs for Seniors. Oh, and Bush has us engaged in an unpopular war overseas. Guns and butter. Did LBJ get reincarnated and I didn't get the memo?

* The easiest thing to do in reporting the stock market, is to use hindsight when reporting the day's events. Pick and choose. After you have your headline, you can list the numbers of ups and downs, and maybe a few of the stories.

* "The stock market sold off today, as oil hit new all-time highs..."

* When was the last time you had a V8? (Uh, today!) Kind of tastey. Kind of salty. 70 calories. 880 grams of sodium for all your water retention needs for the day. (That's a lot). I think I can skip it, unless somebody has a bottle of vodka with 'em. And make that a spicey V8, please!

* I'm supposed to do some monster presentation. "Monster" meaning big, not as in Godzilla. So, I'm stitching together some graphs and notes, and blah blah blah. I generally like these sort of things given proper notice. Of course, question and answer period can go either way.

* "Iran forges ahead with nuclear plans, sending jitters to Wall St..."

* Regarding Iran, looks like the Europeans attempts to appease the Mullahs has been met with laughter and rejection. Investors Business Daily Op-Ed wonders aloud today if we should just do as Israel did to Iraq in 1981, and bomb the facility. "Negotiate with this." Well, do you like the idea of nuclear weapons in Iran? Me neither. Conundrum.

* My buddy says he's loading up on gold. But gold usually does well in times of high inflation. What inflation?

* "Sellers had the upperhand today, after the Fed indicated that they would continue hiking interest rates..."

* I was talking with a coworker about how I've given up caffeine and now aspartame sweetened soft drinks. An hour later, I see her in the cafe with a jug of soda. I was heading for a diet squirt, but having remembered the conversation earlier, I grabbed the V8. Only 70 calories.

* No link between sugar and obesity. I didn't think so. I think it's too many calories and lack of exercise; but, mostly the first one. People eat too much. And fat has 9 calories per gram. The easy way to cut calories is to cut out the fat. What is the average american diet, about 35% fat or so? Too much.

* Short term, anything can impact the market. I don't think the news of the day has much lasting impact compared to future earnings expectations.

* August is usually a bad month. I know I keep repeating myself on that one, but it seems to be playing out that way.